Dris proposal for national licensing of the plumbing and gasfitting occupations

Inflation rate

In order to inflate the hourly cash rates to 2012 dollars, the national consumer price index (CPI) for the period March 2010 to March 2012 has been used based on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (catalogue 6401.0).⁵¹ Note that the national CPI figures have been used (the Australian Bureau of Statistics only publishes CPI figures quarterly).

While ideally the wage rates would be inflated to 1 July 2012 (as the net present value is calculated as at 1 July 2012), the most recent data available when writing this report was CPI figures from March 2012.

Table G.4: Wage rate assumptions

Assumption	Unit	Value	Source
Hourly cash earnings
NSW	$ per hour	$28.20	Australian Bureau of Statistics, Employee earnings and hours, catalogue 6306.0, May 2010, Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupation (ANZSCO) Code 334 ‘Plumbers’, Table 1B Note: Based on ‘ordinary time per person’ (excluding overtime)
VIC	$ per hour	$25.90	Australian Bureau of Statistics, Employee earnings and hours, catalogue 6306.0, May 2010, Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupation (ANZSCO) Code 334 ‘Plumbers’, Table 1C Note: Based on ‘ordinary time per person’ (excluding overtime)
QLD	$ per hour	$31.60	Australian Bureau of Statistics, Employee earnings and hours, catalogue 6306.0, May 2010, Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupation (ANZSCO) Code 334 ‘Plumbers’, Table 1D Note: Based on ‘ordinary time per person’ (excluding overtime)
WA	$ per hour	$27.20	Australian Bureau of Statistics, Employee earnings and hours, catalogue 6306.0, May 2010, Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupation (ANZSCO) Code 334 ‘Plumbers’, Table 1F Note: Based on ‘ordinary time per person’ (excluding overtime)
SA	$ per hour	$29.50	Australian Bureau of Statistics, Employee earnings and hours, catalogue 6306.0, May 2010, Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupation (ANZSCO) Code 334 ‘Plumbers’, Table 1E Note: Based on ‘ordinary time per person’ (excluding overtime)
TAS	$ per hour	$22.40	Australian Bureau of Statistics, Employee earnings and hours, catalogue 6306.0, May 2010, Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupation (ANZSCO) Code 334 ‘Plumbers’, Table 1G Note: Based on ‘ordinary time per person’ (excluding overtime)
ACT	$ per hour	$34.50	Australian Bureau of Statistics, Employee earnings and hours, catalogue 6306.0, May 2010, Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupation (ANZSCO) Code 334 ‘Plumbers’, Table 1I Note: Based on ‘ordinary time per person’ (excluding overtime)
NT	$ per hour	$26.10	Australian Bureau of Statistics, Employee earnings and hours, catalogue 6306.0, May 2010, Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupation (ANZSCO) Code 334 ‘Plumbers’, Table 1H Note: Based on ‘ordinary time per person’ (excluding overtime)
On-costs and overheads multiplier
On-costs and overheads multiplier	Multiplier	1.5	Assumption based on Australian Bureau of Statistics labour cost survey data and guidance material from the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission
Inflation rate (March 2010 to March 2012)
Inflation rate	%	4.97%	Australian Bureau of Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Australia, catalogue 6401.0, March 2012 Note: Inflation index from March 2010 (index number of 171.0) to March 2012 (index number of 179.5)

Industry growth rates (employment)

The net industry growth rate represents the number of people leaving and entering the industry per year.

The proportion of new applicants only takes into the consideration the number of new entrants in the industry. For this rate, in the absence of jurisdiction-specific information, a national figure based on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics labour mobility survey has been used in the cost–benefit analysis. The ‘electricity, gas, water and waste services’ industry is the closest available proxy for the plumbing and gasfitting occupations.

Table G.5: Industry growth rates (employment)

Assumptions	Unit	Value	Source
Net industry growth – national
Plumbing and gasfitting – total	% per annum	1.183%	IBISWorld Industry Report (E4231), Plumbing Services in Australia, April 2012 – annual change in employment, page 34 Average of current and projected rates for 2011–12 to 2016–17. This growth rate is based on industry statistics and does not consider jurisdiction-specific circumstances
Proportion of new applicants in the industry (new applicants as a proportion of existing licensees)
All jurisdictions	% per annum	4.07%	Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour mobility, February 2010, catalogue 6209.0, Table 7, page 23 Calculated as the number of employees that entered into a different industry division in the last 12 months, as a proportion of the total number of employees in the ‘electricity, gas, water and waste services’ industry during that time

Licence fees

The licence fees presented below are based on licence fees payable as at June 2012, or where applicable as at the date specified under the existing jurisdiction-based licensing schemes.

Table G.6: Licence fees – contractor licence

Assumption	Unit	Value	Source
Cost of licence fee – contractor (new licence fee)
NSW	$ per licensee	$586	Based on information provided by NSW regulator on 29 February 2012 Weighted average used for individuals ($521 for 44,287 licensees), partnerships ($756 for 2,050 licensees) and corporations ($885 for 8,467 licensees)
VIC	$ per licensee	–	There is no contractor licence in Victoria
QLD	$ per licensee	$603.40	Based on information provided by Queensland on 31 May 2012. Fees are based on BSA contractor licence fees for category SC2 (up to $300K)
WA	$ per licensee	$578.50	Plumbers Licensing Board, Plumbing contractor’s licence Application fee ($52.50) and licence fee ($526)
SA	$ per licensee	$510.40	Consumer and Business Services, Fees for licensing – plumbers Based on application fee ($173) and a weighted average of the licence fee for natural person ($308) and body corporate ($455) Based on information provided by South Australia in May 2012, the weighted average is based on 20% of contractors being a body corporate and 80% being a natural person
TAS	$ per licensee	$462	Workplace Standards Tasmania, Current fee schedule Workplace Standards Tasmania has advised that the licence fees for plumbing and gasfitting occupations are currently under review
ACT	$ per licensee	$650	ACT Planning and Land Authority, Fees and Charges 2011–2012, viewed 26 April 2012 Application fee (payable upon first applying for a licence) of $200 and licence fee of $450.
NT	$ per licensee	–	There is no contractor licence in the Northern Territory

Table G.7: Licence fees – (full) licence holder

Assumption	Unit	Value	Source
Cost of licence fee – (full) licence holder (new licence fee)
NSW	$ per licensee	$193	Based on information provided by NSW regulator on 29 February 2012 Based on licence fee for qualified supervisor certificate
VIC	$ per licensee	$308.25	Plumbing Industry Commission, Licensing and registration Application fee ($47)and registration fee ($261.25)
QLD	$ per licensee	$165.14	Weighted average of plumbers, gasfitters and fire licensees Plumbers: Plumbing Industry Council, Schedule of application fees established under the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2002 and set in Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2003 Application fee ($53) and licence fee ($110) Gasfitters: Application fee ($35.20) and five years of the pro rata annual fee ($23.50). Based on information provided by Queensland on 31 May 2012 Fire: Three-year occupational fire licence ($238.45). Based on information provided by Queensland on 31 May 2012
WA	$ per licensee	$216.10	Plumbers Licensing Board, Tradesperson’s licence Application fee ($21.10) and licence fee ($195)
SA	$ per licensee	$388	Consumer and Business Services, Fees for licensing – plumbers Application fee ($173) and registration fee ($215)
TAS	$ per licensee	$294	Workplace Standards Tasmania, Current fee schedule Workplace Standards Tasmania has advised that the licence fees for plumbing and gasfitting occupations are currently under review
ACT	$ per licensee	$650	ACT Planning and Land Authority, Fees and Charges 2011–2012, viewed 26 April 2012 Application fee (payable upon first applying for a licence) of $200 and licence fee of $450.
NT	$ per licensee	$70	Plumbers and Drainers Licensing Board, Application forms It is assumed that the published renewal fee is the same as the application fee for a journeyman (worker)

Table G.8: Licence fees – tradesperson registrations

Assumption	Unit	Value	Source
Cost of licence fee – tradesperson registration (new licence fee)
NSW	$ per licensee	$126	Based on information provided by NSW regulator in May 2012
VIC	$ per licensee	$341.70	Plumbing Industry Commission, Licensing and registration Application fee ($47)and registration fee ($294.70)
QLD	$ per licensee	$104	Plumbing Industry Council, Schedule of application fees established under the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2002 and set in Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2003 Application fee ($53) and licence fee for provisional licensees ($51)
WA	$ per licensee	$216.10	Plumbers Licensing Board, Tradesperson’s licence Application ($21.10) and licence fee ($195)
SA	$ per licensee	$388	Consumer and Business Services, Fees for licensing – plumbers Application fee ($173) and registration fee ($215)
TAS	$ per licensee	$294	Workplace Standards Tasmania, Current fee schedule Workplace Standards Tasmania has advised that the licence fees for plumbing and gasfitting occupations are currently under review
ACT	$ per licensee	$500	ACT Planning and Land Authority, Fees and Charges 2011–2012, viewed 26 April 2012 Application fee (payable upon first applying for a licence) of $200 and licence fee of $300 for journeyman.
NT	$ per licensee	$35	Plumbers and Drainers Licensing Board, Application forms It is assumed that the published renewal fee is the same as the application fee for a journeyman (worker)

Table G.9: Renewal licence fees – contractor licence

Assumption	Unit	Value	Source
Cost of renewal licence fee – contractor
NSW	$ per licensee	$526	Based on information provided by NSW regulator on 29 February 2012 Weighted average used for individuals ($462 for 44,287 licensees), partnerships ($695 for 2,050 licensees) and corporations ($822 for 8,467 licensees)
VIC	$ per licensee	–	There is no contractor licence in Victoria
QLD	$ per licensee	$274.75	Based on information provided by Queensland on 31 May 2012. Fees are based on BSA contractor renewal licence fees for category SC2 (up to $300K)
WA	$ per licensee	$526	Plumbers Licensing Board, Plumbing contractor’s licence
SA	$ per licensee	$381.50	Consumer and Business Services, Fees for licensing – plumbers Average of renewal fee for natural person ($308) and body corporate ($455)
TAS	$ per licensee	$462	Workplace Standards Tasmania, Current fee schedule Workplace Standards Tasmania has advised that the licence fees for plumbing and gasfitting occupations are currently under review
ACT	$ per licensee	$450	ACT Planning and Land Authority, Fees and Charges 2011–2012, viewed 26 April 2012
NT	$ per licensee	–	There is no contractor licence in the Northern Territory

Table G.10: Renewal licence fees – (full) licence holder

Assumption	Unit	Value	Source
Cost of renewal licence fee – (full) licence holder
NSW	$ per licensee	$0	Based on information provided by NSW regulator on 29 February 2012. Note: NSW regulator has advised that this fee is under review, but as at March 2012 there is no fee associated with the renewal of (full) licences. Despite this, a cost to government of processing renewals of $59 has been assumed for the purposes of calculating government savings. This cost would cover activities such as sending renewal notices to licensees. This value is based on information provided by the NSW regulator on 29 February 2012
VIC	$ per licensee	$261.25	Plumbing Industry Commission, Licensing and registration
QLD	$ per licensee	$111	Plumbing Industry Council, Schedule of application fees established under the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2002 and set in Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2003 Application fee ($53) and renewal fee ( $58)
WA	$ per licensee	$195	Plumbers Licensing Board, Tradesperson’s licence
SA	$ per licensee	$215	Consumer and Business Services, Fees for licensing – plumbers For a three-year registration period
TAS	$ per licensee	$294	Workplace Standards Tasmania, Current fee schedule Workplace Standards Tasmania has advised that the licence fees for plumbing and gasfitting occupations are currently under review
ACT	$ per licensee	$450	ACT Planning and Land Authority, Fees and charges 2011–2012 Average of licence fees for entity ($450) and individual ($300)
NT	$ per licensee	$70	Plumbers and Drainers Licensing Board, Application forms

Table G.11: Renewal licence fees – tradesperson registration

Assumption	Unit	Value	Source
Cost of renewal licence fee – tradesperson registration
NSW	$ per licensee	$0	Based on information provided by NSW regulator on 29 February 2012. Note: NSW regulator has advised that this fee is under review, but as at March 2012 there is no fee associated with the renewal of (full) licences. Despite this, a cost to government of processing renewals of $59 has been assumed for the purposes of calculating government savings. This cost would cover activities such as sending renewal notices to licensees. This value is based on information provided by the NSW regulator on 29 February 2012
VIC	$ per licensee	$294.70	Plumbing Industry Commission, Licensing and registration
QLD	$ per licensee	$104	Plumbing Industry Council, Schedule of application fees established under the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2002 and set in Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2003 Application fee ($53) and licence fee for a provisional licensee ($51). Queensland has advised that the new application fee is the same as the renewal fee
WA	$ per licensee	$195	Plumbers Licensing Board, Tradesperson’s licence
SA	$ per licensee	$215	Consumer and Business Services, Fees for licensing – plumbers For a three-year registration period
TAS	$ per licensee	$294	Workplace Standards Tasmania, Current fee schedule Workplace Standards Tasmania has advised that the licence fees for plumbing and gasfitting occupations are currently under review
ACT	$ per licensee	$300	ACT Planning and Land Authority, Fees and Charges 2011–2012, viewed 26 April 2012 Fee for a journeyman – $300
NT	$ per licensee	$35	Plumbers and Drainers Licensing Board, Application forms